California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA), a minority institution offering the MS as its highest degree, and with a long tradition of success in developing the careers of minority Americans in the biomedical sciences, proposes to renew its successful Biomedical Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (BIOMED PREP). The proposed and expanded program seeks to keep in the biomedical human capital pipeline the talents of capable minority individuals whose abilities might otherwise be lost to biomedical research. The result is that the participants in this program will subsequently enter graduate programs leading to the PhD at major research institutions. In the first grant period, over 80% of participating post-baccalaureate students proceeded to biomedical or behavioral PhD programs at top institutions nationwide. The project we propose for renewal is expanded in two significant ways: we will increase the number of minority PREP Scholars from the current six to 12 per year, and by partnering with two major biomedical research institutions, the University of Southern California and The City of Hope/Beckman [unreadable] Research Institute, will provide additional research training and education sites for our students. The 12 PREP Scholars will be employed as technicians by Cal State LA while undergoing career advancement through a post-baccalaureate program designed to increase their research skills; enhance their academic background in the biomedical sciences; integrate them into the broader Southern California biomedical research community; expose them to a broad range of biomedical sciences and scientists; and enhance their entry directly into PhD programs, or to MS programs en route to the PhD; and establish the foundation for their successful research careers in the biomedical sciences. [unreadable] [unreadable] We aim to increase the number of minority PhD-level biomedical and behavioral scientists, with the [unreadable] expectation that many will be motivated to work on those problems that disproportionately affect minority populations and have resulted in health disparities among Americans. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]